Movement disorder monitoring system and method

• US 8,187,209 B1
• Filed: 03/17/2005
• Issued: 05/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Great Lakes Neurotechnologies Inc.
• Original Assignee: Great Lakes Neurotechnologies Inc.
• Inventors: Giuffrida, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Hindenburg, Max
• Assistant Examiner(s): Danega, Renee
• Application Number:
  US11/082,668
• Time in Patent Office: 2,630 Days
• Field of Search: 600/595
• US Class Current: 600/595
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1101 Detecting tremor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1123 Discriminating type of movement, e.g. walking or running A61B5/1116, A61B5/112 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/316 Modalities, i.e. specific diagnostic methods
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/389 Electromyography [EMG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4082 Diagnosing or monitoring movement diseases, e.g. Parkinson, Huntington or Tourette
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4839 combined with drug delivery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6824 Arm or wrist
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6825 Hand
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6826 Finger
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7239 using differentiation including higher order derivatives
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7242 using integration
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/742 using visual displays A61B5/339 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/14244 adapted to be carried by the patient, e.g. portable on the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/1723 using feedback of body parameters, e.g. blood-sugar, pressure measurement of body parameters A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

The present invention relates to a movement disorder monitor, and a method of measuring the severity of a subject'"'"'s movement disorder. The present invention additionally relates to a drug delivery system for dosing a subject in response to the increased severity of a subject'"'"'s symptoms. The present invention provides for a system and method, which can accurately quantify symptoms of movements disorders, accurately quantifies symptoms utilizing both kinetic information and electromyography (EMG) data, that can be worn continuously to provide continuous information to be analyzed as needed by the clinician, that can provide analysis in real-time, that allows for home monitoring of symptoms in subject'"'"'s with these movement disorders to capture the complex fluctuation patterns of the disease over the course of days, weeks or months, that maximizes subject safety, and that provides remote access to the clinician or physician.

Claims

1. A portable movement disorder device for measuring severity of a subject'"'"'s movement disorder having symptoms comprising one or more of tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, or dyskinesia, the device comprising

a first sensor for measuring a subject'"'"'s external body motion having a signal related to the subject'"'"'s external body motion;

and

a second sensor for measuring a subject'"'"'s electrical muscle activity having a signal related to the subject'"'"'s electrical muscle activity

wherein the severity of the subject'"'"'s tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, or dyskinesia is calculated based in part on the signals of the first and second sensors.

2. The portable movement disorder device in claim 1, wherein the first sensor comprises an accelerometer.

3. The portable movement disorder device in claim 1, wherein the first sensor comprises at least one accelerometer and at least one gyroscope.

4. The portable movement disorder device in claim 1, wherein the first sensor is attached to one of the subject'"'"'s extremities.

5. The portable movement disorder device in claim 1, wherein the second sensor is a dry electrode.

6. The portable movement disorder device in claim 1, wherein the device weighs less than 2 lbs.

7. A method of measuring severity of a subject'"'"'s movement disorder having symptoms comprising one or more of tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, or dyskinesia, the method comprising the steps of:

measuring with a first device the external body motion of a subject who is believed to have a movement disorder in order to determine a severity of the subject'"'"'s movement disorder;

transmitting a radio frequency signal from the first device worn by a subject based in part on the subject'"'"'s measured external body motion;

receiving the radio frequency transmitted signal with a second device; and

scoring the severity of a subject'"'"'s tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, or dyskinesia based in part on the radio frequency transmitted signal.

8. The method in claim 7, further comprising a step of re-transmitting the radio frequency signal or transmitting the score based on the radio frequency score over the internet.

9. The method in claim 7, further comprising a step of re-transmitting the radio frequency signal or transmitting the score based on the radio frequency score over telephone lines.

10. The method in claim 8, further comprising a step of having a clinician review the radio frequency signal or score that has been transmitted over the internet.

11. The method in claim 9, further comprising a step of having a clinician review the radio frequency signal or score that has been transmitted over the telephone lines.

12. The method in claim 7, wherein the second device is a PDA.

13. The method in claim 7, wherein the second device is a computer.

14. A portable movement disorder device or system for measuring severity of a subject'"'"'s movement disorder having symptoms comprising one or more of tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, or dyskinesia, the device or system comprising

at least one external sensor having a signal for measuring a subject'"'"'s external body motion or physiological signal associated with a movement disorder;

at least one processor for receiving the signal and calculating the severity of the subject'"'"'s tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, or dyskinesia in real time.

15. The portable movement disorder system in claim 14, wherein the system weighs less than about 15 lbs.

16. The portable movement disorder system in claim 14, further comprising a drug reservoir, wherein a drug in the drug reservoir is administered to the subject based in part on the severity of the subject'"'"'s movement disorder.

17. The portable movement disorder system in claim 16, further comprising a closed loop control system wherein the drug administration is controlled in part by the closed loop control system.

18. The portable movement disorder system in claim 14, wherein the severity of the subject'"'"'s movement disorder is calculated in less than 30 seconds.

19. The portable movement disorder system in claim 14, wherein the severity of the subject'"'"'s movement disorder is calculated in less than 1 second.

20. The portable movement disorder system in claim 14, wherein the severity of the subject'"'"'s movement disorder is calculated in less than 0.1 seconds.